World Smile Day, World Teachers' Day, World Space Week

readilearn: Smiles unite our world

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Today is a day to celebrate. It is both World Teachers’ Day and World Smile Day. What a great combination. In addition, these special days also coincide with World Space Week which is celebrated from 4 – 10 October.

World Teachers’ Day

World Teachers’ Day celebrates the contribution that teachers make to education around the world.

This year’s event marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) in which education is recognised as “a key fundamental right and establishes an entitlement to free compulsory education, ensuring inclusive and equitable access for all children”.

This year’s theme is “The right to education means the right to a qualified teacher.”

According to UNESCO, “One of the main challenge [sic] to this right worldwide is the continued shortage of teachers. There are an estimated 264 million children and youth still out of school globally, and according to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, the world needs to recruit almost 69 million new teachers to reach the 2030 education goal of universal primary and secondary education. This ‘teacher gap’ is more pronounced among vulnerable populations – girls, children with disabilities, refugee and migrant children, and poor children living in rural or remote areas.”

If you wish to support organisations that provide education for people in need, this list on informED might be a good place to find one. I’m sure there are many more and perhaps some closer to home. The focus of The Smith Family, one of the organisations I support, is on helping disadvantaged Australian children get the most out of their education so they can improve their futures.

Having spent almost all my life in education in a variety of roles; including student, teacher, teacher support and educational writer, I know how hard teachers work and the importance of the contribution they make to each life they touch. I also know that sometimes they work in situations that cause them much stress, in which they don’t feel valued, and are unsupported. Sadly, more and more experienced teachers are leaving the classroom for these and other reasons, which will only make it more difficult to reach the 2030 goal of universal education.

Happy World Teachers' Day discount subscription

Continue reading: readilearn: Smiles unite our world

15 thoughts on “readilearn: Smiles unite our world”

  1. Mabel Kwong

    Bit late to the party, but it is wonderful we have World Teacher’s Day. Education for all should be something championed. A good education not only opens children’s eyes to the world but also shapes them to be resilient and hardworking persons as they grow up. The primary and secondary schools in Singapore that I attended always made it an effort to celebrate Teacher’s Day (as well as Children’s Day). I remember my class would make a nice card for our teacher and give him or her a gift to show our appreciation for their hard work. There were also cultural performances on this day (think Chinese dancing, fairy dance) and we would get half the day off from school.

    Never heard of World Space Week. As someone who had a fondness for outer space, this sounds amazing 🙂

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thank you for sharing your experiences, Mabel. I love the way you celebrated World Teacher’s Day in Singapore. It sounds like fun. I wonder if the teachers got half a day off school too. 🙂
      I’m sure you’ll find lots to interest you with World Space Week. Enjoy!

      Liked by 1 person

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  4. Patricia Tilton

    Excellent post. I didn’t know there was a Happy World’s Teacher’s Day. I was surprised to learn of the teacher shortage a few months ago. I remember when it was hard to find a teaching position. It sounds like students are choosing to be educators in this high world. And, for some teachers like in Arizona, West VA and other states, the pay is lousy and teachers walkout at the beginning of the school year. I wonder how much the treatment of teachers plays into the equation. Sounds like a complex problem.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thank you for your comment, Patricia. I’m sure the poor work conditions do influence teacher attrition rates. Fortunately, there are many teachers who continue to work because they consider it an important role.

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